~ 1807 ~

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Map and Link Below

This is an abridged version of an article that appeared in the Middle
Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History, Vol. XI, No. 1, Summer 1997.
Please consult that issue for abstracts of most of the grants found on
the original map.

Introduction

There is an archival map of Tennessee's 3rd Surveyor's District at
the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville. For good cause we
date this map as late 1807. This map, No. 399 is very large, in fact it
is too large to be reduced in size and then satisfactorily reproduced.
Therefore, a redrawing was in order. The towns of Cookeville,
McMinnville, Sparta and Spencer have added to the newly drawn version
for your reference. Those towns did not exist in 1807. The map
illustrates the section numbering system used in the 3rd District. That
system was different from the system used in the 1st and 2nd Districts,
Middle Tennessee's other two early Surveyor's Districts. For most of the
3rd District's twenty year lifespan, 1807-1827, the 3rd District was
considered to be in West Tennessee. However, earlier, North Carolina
considered that area to be in her Middle District and is so reflected in
her grants there. The western bounds of the North Carolina Middle
District were the east bounds of the North Carolina Military District,
also known as the Military Reservation.

The first seven Surveyor's Districts, including the 3rd were
created by the Tennessee Assembly in 1806. The section and range lines
were probably run in the spring of 1807. At least, this was the case
with the 2nd District, one of the 3rd District's neighbors. As the
surveyor went about his business, he would mark in his field notes, all
waterways, both great and small. He would not follow the creeks and
branches to their source or to their outlets, hence you will notice
incomplete waterways crossing the lines. Usually, a number of surveyors
would be employed to survey a whole District and then all the single
line surveys would be combined to produce the map of the District.
Actual entries for land in the 3rd District started on 3 Aug 1807.
Surveys for individual tracts would follow.

North Carolina Grants and 3rd District Surveys

Many North Carolina plats of grants are shown on the map as are also
a few 1807 Tennessee plats. It is possible that the map was never
finished for great many older North Carolina grants in the area are not
drawn on the map. Many, but not all, of the grants have been identified.